PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Coraje Rage (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Igor Valchenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). On his way into the ring it seems that Coraje Rage has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Coraje Rage seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Rage
vs
Valchenko

190 cm
24
240 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

195 cm
22
273 lbs
3 - 4 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Coraje Rage!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Igor Valchenko!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rage closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Valchenko tries to control but Rage manages to take his back.
Rage connects with a big shot to the side of Valchenko's head.
Valchenko staying busy and making it hard for Rage to control.
Good control from Rage.
Valchenko looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Rage struggling to keep hold of the position.
Rage has good solid back control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rage is hanging on to Valchenko's back as he tries to escape.
Valchenko wants to control his opponent's hands but Rage gets his hands free.
Valchenko is in bad spot here.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Valchenko preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Rage.
Valchenko looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Rage misses with a punch to the head.
Rage has good solid back control here.
Valchenko is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Valchenko staying busy and making it hard for Rage to control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Coraje Rage just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Rage will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rage circles away from the clinch attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Valchenko shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Valchenko looks gassed!
It looks like Valchenko is going to stand back up.
Rage is pressing down on Valchenko's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Rage looking to hit a scissor sweep but Valchenko is one step ahead there.
Valchenko postures up.

Rage looking for a guillotine here but Valchenko defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valchenko won't allow Rage to get back to his feet.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Valchenko postures up.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Rage holds on and takes a little breather.
Valchenko scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Valchenko trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rage keeping moving, preventing Valchenko from controlling successfully.

Rage is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Valchenko defends well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Coraje Rage dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A punch combination from Rage misses.
Rage misses with a leg kick.
Rage lands with a cross.

It looks like Igor Valchenko has been cut.
Coraje Rage is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rage clinches but Valchenko breaks the clinch
and Valchenko counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rage thinking.
Rage tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rage looks for a takedown but Valchenko sprawls well.

Valchenko instigates a clinch.
Valchenko has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Valchenko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Valchenko displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rage.
Valchenko scores with a body shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rage misses with a takedown

and Valchenko moves into the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Coraje Rage. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rage tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Valchenko breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Valchenko doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Rage counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Valchenko is trying to control but can't.
Rage looks to land a strike but Valchenko avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rage accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Valchenko is striking from the bottom but Rage uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.

Valchenko has one foot on Rage's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valchenko moves out of range of the body kick from Rage.

Rage scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Rage is trying to control the action in half guard but Valchenko is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Rage stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Rage feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rage works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Rage is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Rage wants to pass to mount but Valchenko is defending the position.
Valchenko is striking from the bottom but he's now found himself mounted! Oh dear - not enough focus on defense there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rage landing strikes, looking to finish!

Rage has control of Valchenko's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Valchenko regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Valchenko tries to lock up and control but Rage gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rage in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Rage trying to control but he's not successful this time.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Rage here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rage controlling from mount.
Rage is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Valchenko can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Valchenko can't escape the position.
Coraje Rage overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Rage gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Valchenko has had enough of the clinch but Rage keeps him there for the moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rage tries to stall but Valchenko uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Rage wants to get back to striking at distance but Valchenko won't allow it.
Rage tries to circle away but Valchenko has him pinned against the ropes.
Valchenko tries to pull guard but Rage won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Coraje Rage dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Igor Valchenko's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Valchenko doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Rage decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Valchenko's guard.
Rage trying to control but Valchenko is working from the bottom.
Rage is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Rage trying to control but Valchenko is working from the bottom.
Rage stands and throws Valchenko's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Valchenko takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rage postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valchenko is trying to work for a sweep but Rage has mounted him!
Valchenko is trying to get to the ropes to help him get back to his feet.

Rage looking for a guillotine from mount but Valchenko is having none of it.
Rage controlling from the full mount.

Rage looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valchenko has given up his back here.
Rage lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Rage.
Rage controls the position.
Rage is landing with strikes from the back.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Rage's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valchenko trying to control but not successfully.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Rage's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Rage throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Valchenko!

Rage working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Rage throws a series of strikes and Valchenko wriggles onto his back, so he's now mounted. He's in real trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rage looking to control and managing it successfully.
Rage tries to control but Valchenko wriggling away.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Coraje Rage just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Rage tries to clinch but Valchenko moves out of range.
Valchenko tries a head kick but it misses.
Rage swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Valchenko counters with a right hand to the body.
Valchenko tries to clinch up but Rage circles away and keeps his distance.
Rage fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Igor Valchenko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Rage gets caught flat footed, as Valchenko shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Coraje Rage showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rage, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Andi Peters scores the fight for Coraje Rage!
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight for Coraje Rage!
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight for Coraje Rage!

Coraje Rage wins by unanimous decision!